"Secret of Nepa-Talu"Valley of the Dinosaurs #8 (Charlton)
Art and story: Fred Himes
June 1976

John and Lok receive some unexpected help
in their effort to rescue Katie and Greg.

Story Summary

Continuing from
"The Temple of Nepa-Talu",
Katie and Greg enter the ruins of the ancient city. They are
forced to find refuge in a temple when they are chased by an
Allosaurus. But inside, they are captured by Nepa-Talu,
ruler of a subterranean city populated by the ancestors of those
who once ruled the city above. Meanwhile, John and Lok find the
wreckage of the hot-air balloon and track the kids and pets to
the temple, unaware that they are being followed by Kungar the
exile.

John and Lok discover the underground city
and are attacked by some of its denizens, but the weak
subterraneans are easily overpowered. John gains the cooperation
of an elder of the group and he leads them to prison cells where
Katie and Greg are being held. But Nepa-Talu spies them and soon
John and Lok are imprisoned as well.

Nepa-Talu decides the intruders must die
and has them led to the surface, where he blows a horn to summon
the guardian of the lost city (the
Allosaurus). But
the beast does not come. Instead, Kungar arrives and fights the
mighty chief, finally forcing him to plummet to his doom from a
cliff.

With their oppressive leader deposed, the
denizens of the underground city return to the surface, though
they are unfamiliar with how to survive there. Kungar vows he
will stay with them a while and teach them how to hunt, fish,
and defend themselves.

"Secret of Nepa-Talu" is a 10-page
story appearing in Valley of the Dinosaurs #8.

Didja Notice?

On page 12, the pterosaur appears to be a
Rhamphorhynchus. A pair of Gallimimus or
Coelophysis are also seen.

The theropod on page 13 is referred to as an
Allosaurus, but they had only three-clawed forelimbs,
whereas the beast seen here has four. The
Allosaurus seems to guard the ruins, much like Big
Alice does the Lost City in
Land of the Lost!

John is shown as able to speak with the subterraneans. How? Do
they speak the same language as the cave dwellers? It's a cinch
they don't actually speak English as written in this comic!

Unanswered Questions

What happened to Digger and Glump when Katie and Greg were
imprisoned by Nepa-Talu? They are not seen with them in the holding
cell, nor do they appear to be present when Nepa-Talu takes the
Butlers and Lok to the surface to be devoured by the allosaur. They
are finally seen again in the very last panel of the story as Kungar
announces he will teach the subterraneans how to survive. I suppose
the pair were kept in a separate area for animals and released after
Nepa-Talu was killed.